Steve McClaren faces race against time to prolong Newcastle reign

Newcastle United’s abject defeat at Everton has placed their manager under extreme pressure before the home game against West Bromwich – can his expensively assembled side click and come to his rescue?

Why is a manager whose recent splashing of the cash has raised eyebrows across Europe currently puzzling how to plug the gaping hole at the heart of his defence for a match in which defeat could conceivably cost him his job?

During his days in charge at St James’ Park, Graeme Souness likened life in the parallel universe that is Planet Toon as akin to being part of a banana republic. Steve McClaren would tell him things have become a whole lot more peculiar since then.

Wednesday night’s abject 3-0 defeat at Everton has not only kept Newcastle third from bottom and in real danger of what threatens to be a financially catastrophic relegation but placed their manager under acute pressure before Saturday’s home game against West Bromwich Albion.

Yet it is not entirely McClaren’s fault that he had to resort to playing Rolando Aarons at left-back following an injury to Paul Dummett (whose natural position is actually centre-half). Or that another injury to Chancel Mbemba and the late sending off of Jamaal Lascelles at Goodison Park dictates he is likely to have to start a ring-rusty Steven Taylor alongside Fabricio Coloccini against Tony Pulis’s side.

Although McClaren is part of the St James’ board this is largely a semantic position with Graham Carr, the chief scout, and Lee Charnley, the chief executive, bearing principal responsibility for recruitment.

While the manager succeeded where Alan Pardew failed and persuaded that pair to convince Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s owner, finally to buy a couple of British players in Jonjo Shelvey and Andros Townsend, he lacked sufficient leverage to ensure much needed deals for a left-back and a centre-half were completed by 11pm on Monday.

At his best Taylor is a very good centre-half – and probably the best defensive header of a ball on McClaren’s books – but hamstring surgery has sidelined him for the first five months of this season and there are concerns over whether he can last 90 minutes on Saturday. Maybe offloading Mike Williamson, another stopper, to Wolves last month was not so smart after all.

Ditto refusing to accede to Davide Santon’s demand that he return to Newcastle from Internazionale in a permanent transfer rather than on a proposed loan. An Italy full-back, Santon would have coped a lot better than Aarons on Merseyside but unless Jack Colback – a midfielder who can “do a job” at left-back – is fit, the winger might have to be given another whirl in defence against West Brom.

At most clubs the former Swansea midfielder and Tottenham winger would be facing an automatic 50% wage cut should their new team end up in the Championship next season but, unusually, Newcastle player contracts do not generally contain the so-called “relegation clauses” now de rigeur at clubs such as Sunderland, Norwich and even Spurs.

Ashley relishes taking calculated risks but his failure to limit the potential damage of relegation by ensuring that, were the worst to happen, remuneration costs would be instantly slashed really is a high-stakes gamble. Moreover such contractual stipulations tend to serve as highly effective incentives for players who will invariably fight tooth and nail to stay up and thereby avoid forfeiting half their incomes.

Strangely, McClaren maintains that he does not speak to the owner. This represents a considerable departure from Pardew’s days in charge when the current Crystal Palace manager was in regular contact with Ashley. If it helped that they shared a mutual confidant and public relations representative in Keith Bishop – who these days is sometimes charged with passing messages from the sports retail tycoon to McClaren – those chats were arguably one of the reasons why Pardew kept his job when almost everyone seemed to be screaming for his sacking.

Does Ashley harbour similar loyalty to McClaren? On a human level, their lack of any sort of relationship would surely make it much easier to dismiss him. Ominously for the former England coach, the transfer window’s closure means changing managers is now the final card available to Newcastle.

Given that Ashley has indicated he is prepared to spend heavily again in the summer, Rafael Benítez would almost certainly give any offer to relocate to Tyneside serious thought while Brendan Rodgers could surely be tempted.

If McClaren could speak directly to Ashley he would surely remind him that he inherited a mentally weak, skinnily staffed and positionally unbalanced squad last summer; that a team woefully short of on-pitch leaders were very nearly relegated under John Carver last May and that, in certain games, Newcastle have been much more attractive to watch than during Pardew’s tenure.

Granted they have frequently been let down by the lack of a reliable goalscorer but Seydou Doumbia has arrived on loan from Roma and the Ivorian striker should soon be polishing off the chances created by Townsend, Shelvey, Gini Wijnaldum, Ayoze Pérez and Moussa Sissoko.

McClaren might also argue that it takes time for new recruits, however gifted, to gel. Similarly, weaning Newcastle’s players off Pardew’s ultra-pragmatic counterattacking game and moulding an intelligent passing side capable of controlling games cannot happen overnight.

Unfortunately patience tends to become a finite commodity once the second tier starts beckoning. Further stumbles against West Brom and at Chelsea the following weekend would leave Ashley with a very big decision to make. Following the Stamford Bridge trip Newcastle are without a game for two and a half weeks. For McClaren, that hiatus could represent extremely dangerous territory.